Abstract

Objective—To compare M mode derived indices of left ventricular performance obtained with transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography in children with congenital heart disease.

Design—Transthoracic and transoesophageal M mode echocardiograms were obtained under general anaesthesia before cardiac catheterisation. Recordings were digitised by dedicated software. Indices of cavity dimension and left ventricular wall dynamics were compared.

Patients—16 unselected patients with congenital heart disease.

Results—Group data for simple measurements of ventricular dimension and wall thickness were similar with the two techniques and had acceptable coefficients of repeatability, but there were considerable individual differences. Correlation was poor with unacceptable repeatability for derived indices of cavity and ventricular wall dynamics.

Conclusion—Both transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography can be used to obtain M mode derived indices of left ventricular performance but the resultant measurements are not directly comparable, presumably because of regional non-uniformity of function.